


Hospital Snow Angels

by Ranowa



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Blind Roy Mustang, Fluff, Gen, Mama Hawk, Papa Roy, Parental Roy Mustang, Post-Promised Day, Self-Indulgent, al deserves a big hug, let's not look at that dumb title shall we
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2019-03-13 23:31:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13581249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ranowa/pseuds/Ranowa
Summary: Several weeks after the Promised Day, it snows in Central, and Al wants nothing more than to go outside. Fluff, Papa Roy, Mama Hawk.





	Hospital Snow Angels

**Author's Note:**

> So, my current text editor crashed! Yay for me! I've been using Bean for six years now, I believe, but it's evidently not compatible with the new OS, and now my all time favorite app is gone and my oneshot doc was almost corrupted into all ruin in the process. I typed this guy up while looking around for new programs; if anyone's got any suggestions, let me know! I need a steady one before I can get back to my angst monster again. Meanwhile, here is this thing. Utterly self indulgent fluff. I'm proud of myself. This is the first time I've written something self indulgent that was not irredeemable angst :) Enjoy! (also, ignore my inability to title, please ;_;)

They heard the argument from down the hall.

"Brother, _please!"_

"You can't! No! No, _no!"_

"But Brother! It's just for a little w-"

" _No no no!"_

"The doctors said it would be okay!"

"Doctors, shmoctors! They don't know what they're talking about, they _never_ know what they're talking about, and it's just- too- _dangerous!"_

" _BROT-..."_

"Al? _Al!"_

Roy coughed uncomfortably, rubbing the back of his neck, and allowed his adjutant to bring him to a stop in the hallway. "...The traditional Elric brother's spat, hmm?" he trailed off awkwardly, and, next to him, Riza just huffed.

"It sounded a bit more serious than that, sir. Do you think we should just come back another time...?"

Roy hesitated, chewing on his lower lip. On one hand, it hadn't sounded Serious serious. He'd heard- and seen- the Elric brothers argue countless times over the years, and the one he'd just heard probably been one of their tamest fights ever... but the way it had ended left him a little concerned. "Let's at least check up on them," he said at last, holding out his hand again.

"Of course, sir." But he heard the quiet note of concern in her voice, too, and knew she was secretly glad for the chance to put her own worries to rest. Her pace was a little quicker than before- Roy nearly tripped over his own feet- but he smiled all the same, and together they approached the hospital room in a companionable, anxious silence.

It was approaching a month since the Promised Day. Al was still in the hospital, though doing much better, from what little he'd been able to tell himself and from the constant updates he was getting from everyone else. There was even talk of letting him go home to Risembool soon, knowing he'd have an overprotective brother by his side the entire time and would be staying with the Rockbells, who were trained enough to help if something went wrong.

He'd actually not heard much from Ed, these days; though Ed had been released a while ago, the older Elric ended up staying in that room more than he had when he'd actually been a patient. Roy had even offered his own home more than once, seriously doubting the kid was getting much sleep curled up in a plastic hospital chair-

But, honestly… _that_ conversation hadn't ended well.

" _I'm not going home with you to handhold you around your house, bastard, while Al's stuck here! Go manipulate someone else into being your guide dog!"_

Roy sighed despondently, rubbing his free hand at his still stubbornly useless eyes.

The offer really had been altruistic... for once. It figured, the one time he was really trying to just lend the boy a hand, and it'd just been thrown back in his face.

It would've been more depressing, if he hadn't remembered Riza quietly snickering in the background of Ed's entire diatribe.

"Wait just a moment, sir," he heard, and came to a stop obediently, just used to it by this point. He listened to the high-pitched whine of non-oiled hinges creaking open, then the expected increase in noise level as the door between him and the source was moved out of the way, and was stepping forward again a half second before the warm grip of jus adjutant's fingers returned to his elbow.

The noises, however, were too quiet for him to really figure out what was going on. The scratchy rustle of sheets, the sounds of people breathing... Roy cleared his throat when no introduction or greeting came, tilting his head expectantly to the side. "Are we interrupting something?"

There was somebody flailing- Ed, one hundred percent, that was Ed- some more hurried footsteps, then, "No, no, everything's fine, hang on-"

"H-hi, Colonel, Lieutenant." That was Al, a voice that Roy was still learning to recognize not echoing in cold, metallic armor- but it sounded weak and hoarse today, weaker and hoarser than usual, and he faltered in the doorway, suddenly wondering if this was such a good idea after all.

"Come on in, come on, it's fine," Ed said again, and must've looked reassuring enough that Riza was convinced, as she started to guide him further into the room. "It's nothing. Al just strained his voice a little. Al, here, more water..."

Roy winced slightly, though did his best to hide it from everyone else in the room. It had been nearly four weeks, but even shouting for too long could still be too much for atrophied muscles and an almost wasted body. It was intensely sobering, and hearing something like that, he almost couldn't even blame Ed, for being so protective he just about smothered his younger brother...

But, he figured having one overprotective mother hen was quite enough for Al, especially one as capable as Ed, so rather than get on to him about it just cracked a small smile instead, turning his face over in their direction. "That doesn't surprise me. We heard you two arguing all the way down the hall."

Ed made a scoffing sound over the quiet noise of his brother drinking, probably trying to soothe his throat. "It's cause Al's being stupid again. Wants to-"

"I'm not stupid, _you're_ stupid, Brother-"

"I'll show _you_ stupid-"

"Boys," Riza sighed heavily, interrupting the argument before it could again reach catastrophic levels. Roy swallowed his own smirk, and knew his adjutant well enough that he could just picture the small, dry smile he absolutely knew was on her face as well. "You are both the most intelligent people in this room, most likely in this hospital, quite possibly in the entire city at the present time. Now, can you explain what's the matter, or do we have to put you both in separate timeouts like children?"

That noise was definitely Ed, scowling and scoffing all over again. Roy couldn't picture Al's face, but he was sure the child was grinning triumphantly all the same.

Al was first, the joy and excitement practically bursting through the syllables as he spoke. "Look, Lieutenant!" he cried. "Look, it's snowing! It's the first real snow all year, and I- I just want to go outside! Just look, it's so pretty! And it wouldn't be dangerous at all, I'd just be right downstairs, right outside the hospital!"

Ah. That was all the explanation that Roy needed.

Ed, of course, pushed on with his argument anyway, but Roy didn't need him to say a single word to guess what the disagreement was, here, or explain why they'd been having another loving shouting match just before he arrived. "I know, Al," Ed explained, half-patiently, half-exasperatedly, "but- look, it's winter, okay? It's going to be snowing plenty more before we leave-"

"But it's the _first_ snow, Brother!"

"-and, and I can't even take you today- can you please just wait a week or two? Come on, Al- and it wouldn't be good for you, you still get cold so easily-"

"But the doctors said I _could!"_

"Al..."

Roy frowned a little, tilting his head again. "You can't take him?" he asked, hopefully addressing Ed. "Why not?"

Ed let out another deep, aggravated sigh; then there was the loud creak of hospital bed springs, a sound Roy still remembered from his own recent stay here that signaled the kid throwing himself down against his bed. "They just did another operation on my arm and aren't letting me go anywhere today. Truth was a dick and left a ton of metal in there. I mean, I feel fucking _fine,_ but they said they'll really drug me this time if I sneak out, and I hate that stuff, and... yeah."

Roy nodded slowly, absorbing the information. Now that he thought about it, he half-remembered something about Ed's restored arm being brought up in the maelstrom of injuries after the Promised Day, but Ed had put off the operation then, with his brother still in intensive care and in such a precarious position with each day. He found himself a little annoyed Ed hadn't bothered to tell them he was finally getting it done now, but it wasn't really surprising; Ed would've hated to have them worry or make a big deal about it, and besides, he certainly _seemed_ fine, if he was capable of yelling like this already.

Which still left them with this current problem to resolve.

"Well," Roy ventured cautiously after several moments, spreading his hands, "if that's the problem, one of us can take Al, can't we?" He turned his face towards what he hoped was Al's direction, smiling a little again. "It isn't really that cold outside today. If the doctors said he'd be all right, then it should be fine, shouldn't it?"

He could practically see Al bouncing his bed, he was so excited. "See, Brother, see, even the Colonel agrees!" he cried while his brother sputtered from the next bed over.

"I think that's a fine idea," Riza agreed smoothly, turning it to three against one just like that. "One of us can take Alphonse outside for a short while, and the other can stay here with Edward."

"To make sure he doesn't sneak on outside after him," Roy adding, smirking, then sighed. "Actually, on that note, I think you might have to stay with Ed, Lieutenant. We both know he's not above abusing a poor man's blindness to his advantage."

Riza made a quiet, unamused sort of sound next to him; Ed, of course, sounded equally unamused, but to a much more vocal and angry degree. _"Hey!_ Wait a minute, I never agreed to any- I am _not_ leaving my brother in the hands of the bastard, no, _no no no-_ Al, _please,_ just wait a week or two until you're stronger, until I can go with you, Al, come on..."

"But _Brother,_ I'll be fine! Nothing'll go wrong, not at all, I promise!"

"But you can't promise that!"

Several unhappy moments passed in silence, the brothers stuck in a standoff that the both of them, unfortunately, were witnesses to. After an awkward moment passed without more of the argument, Riza's hand left his elbow, and he heard her footsteps crossing the room, then the gentle creak of a hospital bed as she sat down on its edge. "You know that you can't be with him every second of every day, Edward," she said gently. "And they won't even be leaving the hospital. Really, what's the worst that could happen to them?"

There was a loud intake of breath, a sound synonymous with _Ed rant incoming._

"What could _realistically_ happen?" she cut in immediately, and Roy swallowed another slight smile.

"Brother, _please?"_

After several tense moments, Ed groaned quietly, not an answer to any of them but just a quiet sign of his own exasperation. He heard the kid get to his feet, but didn't realize what was happening until the familiar, mismatched footsteps had stopped right in front of him, and the back of his neck started to prickle with the uncomfortable awareness of being watched.

One steady, cold finger poked him right in the chest; no warning. Roy rocked carefully back onto his heels and kept his balance, somehow, and scowled right back at him- or, perhaps, over him.

"I'm supposed to leave my brother to _him?"_

Roy scowled again, folding his arms. "I may be temporarily blind, but I'm still a State Alchemist, pipsqueak. Remember? According to the military, I'm the most qualified out of anyone in this room."

"...That's more than a little terrifying, Colonel."

"I bet I can still benchpress you without breaking a sweat, Fullmetal."

"Oh, _that's_ a new one, you egomaniacal-"

" _Boys,"_ his lieutenant groaned again, the word so heavy with irritation he was half surprised he didn't hear the cocking of a pistol after it.

Ed sighed in annoyance again, but this time went silent as he started to pace around him, as if evaluating his ability as a bodyguard, should an assassin break into the hospital at this precise moment and target, for whatever reason, the emaciated teenage boy who couldn't even hurt a fly. He sighed again, poking once more at his chest- Roy was proud to say his balance wasn't upset in the slightest this time, which was actually quite a feat, as he was _blind_ \- and then, with another reluctant sigh, his footsteps came to a stop.

"You get half an hour."

Al cheered, hands clapping together in a sound that was the very personification of joy. Even Riza's quiet sigh sounded ecstatic.

Ed poked at him a third time, this time so hard in almost actually hurt. "But if you're- I'm not fucking kidding, bastard, look at me- if you're _one second_ late, or if _one thing_ happens to my brother, _I swear-"_

"Yes, yes," Al rushed on, barely suppressed laughter shaking in his voice, "can we go now?!"

Ed groaned loudly, and Roy, for the first time all day, laughed.

* * *

Things, of course, were not as simple as they had first sounded. They had to call a doctor again, for everyone's sakes, to make sure it really would be okay to take Al out into the cold weather and what sort of activities would be safe, and what sorts of things Roy should watch out (or listen) for if something went wrong.

Then there was the arduous task of getting Al into a wheelchair and ready to go, something which Roy was unable to really help for but listened in on all the same. They all had something to contribute; Riza gave up her thick winter gloves, he heard her carefully patting them into place. Ed gave up the sweater Roy was honestly a little surprised he hadn't already forced Al into wearing, and on top of that went a blanket from the hospital bed. Roy carefully added his own scarf to the mix, Riza helping him to wrap it around Al's neck while Ed continued to fret around them.

"By this point, all I can really do is fall over in the snow," Al pointed out, his voice slightly muffled.

Ed huffed again. _"Good_. You shouldn't be doing anymore than that!" Then Roy found himself being poked again, once again so violently he nearly toppled over. "Half an hour, you got that?"

Suddenly, Riza was by his side again, pressing something cold and metal and round into his hand. "I set the timer for thirty-five minutes, sir."

Ah. His pocket watch. "Thank you, Lieutenant," he sighed, starting to slip it back into his pants pocket, but she wasn't done yet.

"Alphonse, please, make sure the Colonel keeps these _on,"_ she instructed, and before he knew it her hands were on his face again, pushing sunglasses against his nose so suddenly his cheeks heated up and a tiny, embarrassed noise came out of his throat. "He likes to take them off even though he's not supposed to."

Ed snickered quietly, and Roy found himself swallowing a groan, adjusting the dammed things on the bridge of his nose. "Yes, Lieutenant," he mumbled, and this time, Ed's snicker was just loud enough Roy could pinpoint the source and plan out, mentally execute, and enjoy a shove to the midget's face.

"Let's go, let's _go!_ Please, before he thinks of something else!" Al begged, and before he knew it he was positioned behind a wheelchair, Ed glaring daggers into his back and Riza surely the only force keeping him from lunging up to follow them- and they were headed outside the room.

Roy cleared his throat awkwardly once the door was shut behind him, resting one hand clumsily on the blanket-smothered shoulder in front of him. "Well, that was significantly less difficult than I imagined it to be." He smiled into the darkness, then tilted his head to the left. "This way to the elevators, yes?"

"Oh... yes, sir." Now that he no longer was in a constant struggle to convince Ed, he no longer sounded so half frantic or desperately excited. "Really- thanks so much for this. You don't have to do this."

Roy shrugged easily, making sure to go a little slower than usual now that he had more than just his bruised ego to contend with if he ran into something. "There's nothing quite like your first snow. You may not be able to do very much, but it'd still be a shame for you to miss it." He paused, allowing himself a slight, indulgent smile. "Although, I'm afraid I must also ask you to take it easy. I don't think I'd survive your brother's retribution in this state."

It was a joke, though perhaps only on the surface. If anything at all happened to Al on this short venture, he'd be the one held responsible, and Ed would not hold any punches- but Roy had already been planning on keeping as close an eye as possible on Al. Figuratively, of course… but he really did not need Ed behind him promising a bloody, cold revenge for him to make sure Al was safe.

Al laughed a little, but there was a soft note of bitterness in it. "I think it's my payback, for coddling him every time he ended up in the hospital. I mean, not on purpose- I know he's not doing this to get back at me. But... I guess I never just realized how... how _unfun_ it was."

Roy swallowed another smile. Unfun. That was a new one. "It does feel quite unfortunate to be the invalid, doesn't it? Ah- speaking of, tell me when we reach the elevator, please." He coughed, pushing uncomfortably at the sunglasses. He wondered how many stares he was attracting, wearing them inside. And Riza wondered _why_ he kept taking them off.

"...He nearly died, _again,_ and blows it off like it's nothing, but then he freaks out just when I get out of bed. I-I really don't get him, sometimes." Al hesitated again, a cross between adoration and sorrow breaking through his voice. "He acts like he's the one in the armor now and I've been made into a glass statue. Oh- oh, the elevator, sir-"

Roy stopped on a dime; perhaps too quickly, when he heard a little pained noise from Al's throat, again making something in his chest twist guiltily. Not for the first time, he had to wonder just how emaciated and weak Al truly was- but given the current topic of discussion, doubted speaking up about it was the best idea, and just cleared his throat in lieu of an apology. "Thank you. Can you hit the button, please? We're headed to the first floor." He paused, waiting until he heard the click of the button to continue on, hoping to infuse some modicum of cheer back into the situation before they made it downstairs- the clock was ticking, after all, and it wouldn't do to waste their time outside with Al quietly talking himself into being sadder and sadder, guiltier and guiltier. "It's just his nature, you know. He just wants to make sure you're safe. I mean, just look at me. I think this is one of the first times the lieutenant's let me out of her sight in weeks, and there's nothing even _wrong_ with me."

He reached forward to touch a hand to his blanket-covered shoulder again, ending up patting his head instead. His face flushed again, but it was easiest to just not admit and call attention to the mistake, so he patted Al's head again then pushed the wheelchair on out of the elevator, orienting himself towards what he was _almost_ positive sure was the door. "Don't worry about it much now," he added on warmly. "He just needs to see you can be on your own and still be okay. Hawkeye'll talk some sense into him; you'll see. Now, think about something else for now, Al- we only have half an hour before Ed storms out here after us, so you should at least get yourself covered enough in snow to make it worth it." Then he paused again, swallowing his rising worry to tack on a _but please, really, be careful._ Either he would be careful, or he wouldn't be; it was too late to change things now.

Roy pushed Al on through to the hospital courtyard- albeit only knowing that he had by the blast of cold wind that hit his face. He would've said he missed his scarf, but could only imagine how bad it felt for Al. "Well, here we are!" he exclaimed, pushing Al out of the main path and moved to the side to hold his hand out, waiting for him to take it.

For a moment or two, nothing happened.

Then: _whump._

Then: "Oh my god! Oh my _god!_ It's- it's so cold! It's so- Colonel, look, look, it's so cold! And- and _crunchy!_ Colonel, Colonel, it's so cold and crunchy! It's soft and crunchy and cold and wh- what _is this?!_ I love it! I-" There was a soft crunching sound again, then a delighted whoop, then- _"It's so soft! It's FLUFFY!"_ and Roy, still standing there, hand held out completely uselessly, found himself instantly made into the third wheel on Al's date with the snow.

He laughed, beaming blindly himself, and for the first time all day, actually found himself truly relaxed. Possibly for the first time all week.

Roy sat down in the wheelchair himself, mostly just to keep track of it, and wrapped his around tightly around himself, grinning as he listened to Al. He wasn't entirely sure what the boy was doing, was sure that, whatever it was, Ed would find something objectionable about it- but Al was clearly enjoying himself, so Ed would just have to deal with it.

It sounded like some of the most fun the boy had had since he'd gotten his body back.

He sat there for a little while, listening to Al laugh and, by the crunching sounds, just rolled around in the snow. His mental image had turned Al into something close to a puppy, slowly and consistently covering himself head to foot in snow, and he snickered again and fought as hard as he could to keep his own glee off his face. _No- no Roy- bad Roy- he's not a PUPPY, Roy…_

He almost choked on suppressed laughter and covered his face for a moment, breathing deeply. One of the questionable benefits of being blind; he really had no idea what was going on in front of him and couldn't help but imagine what it looked like, and really couldn't stop himself from painting an image far more interesting or hilarious than what was actually going on. Still struggling not to laugh, Roy pushed on his glasses again and covered his mouth with one hand, listening to the continuing sounds of Al laughing and rolling about in the snow.

Al would probably regret it sooner or later, when he ended up soaked and freezing because of it, and then _Roy_ would regret it, because Ed was going to beat him up- but for now, at least, this was worth it.

It was worth it.

"Um… sir?"

Roy jumped, coming back to himself and trying to re-orient himself in the darkness. "Yes?"

"I… think I'm stuck."

…uh oh.

"It's- it's not that bad!" Al exclaimed not a moment later, and this time the crunching was underneath his own feet as Roy shot upright, already half in a panic. "I'm okay, it's- oh, oh, be careful, sir-!"

But it was too late for that.

Because he had taken two steps after the boy, two probably too big, rushed steps, and his third step had slipped on the slick ground, there was a great big _whoosh_ of cold air, and he panicked, because there was _nothing_ like falling when he was blind and could do nothing to stop it and- _smack!_

Right on his back. And ass. And back of his head.

And _ow._

Roy groaned, and somewhere off to his left, Al moaned.

"I'm so so sorry, sir," the teen moaned. "I'm so sorry, I tried to stop you…"

Roy groaned again.

Well, at least it was Al out here, and not Ed. Ed would already be laughing at him.

"I'm fine," he grunted, once he'd gotten the breath back in him that the fall had knocked out. "Just fine, I believe. Perfectly all right, Al." He raised a hand to feel the back of his head for lumps, let said hand fall when he realized he'd never be able to feel _anything_ through the thick winter mittens Hawkeye had foisted on him before letting him leave the house earlier today, and just forced a gritted-teeth sort of smile. "Didn't realize it was quite so icy. I'm fine."

Al gave another apologetic moan; this time, Roy could practically hear him shivering in his voice alone. "That's what I was trying to tell you, sir. I think I somehow ended up on this patch of ice and… and now I can't get out- m-my hands keep s-s-slipping-"

 _Ahhh_. "Don't worry about it, don't worry, Al. Just stay there, and I'll come to you- although, keep talking, if you don't mind, so I can find you." It sounded like he was shivering already; very _not good_. "Did you fall?"

"N-no- I was just t-t-trying to f-find- I saw something sh-shiny and- and now my eyes h-hurt too! And- I'm s-sorry, Colonel, Brother w-was right, I c-can't _do it,_ I'm- s-sorry-"

 _Oh, dear._ This was actually not good in the slightest. Roy chewed on his lower lip, keeping silent because he really did need Al to keep talking so he could find him, but at the same time really wishing he could speak up to calm him down. Roy carefully moved forward on his knees in a very awkward and embarrassing shuffle, heading after Al's steadily rising voice with his hands reached out a little, searching, and at last breathed a sigh huge of relief when they ran into something big, lumpy, and moving. "Here we go," he murmured, more to himself than Al, and situated himself so his hands were both on his shoulders. "Al, it's okay. Shh, it's okay. Just calm down, you're going to be okay…"

He'd heard Ed quietly mention that Al could get like this, now; so easily overwhelmed and panicked that he could be sent into an anxiety attack just by too much sensory stimuli at once. Not upset, exactly, just trying to take on too much that he didn't know how to deal with at once until he just shut down. Instead of trying to process everything at once, he just quit trying to process _anything._ Quickly, Roy clumsily wrapped his arms around the figure in front of him and pulled him closer, trying to trap Al into staring at nothing but his coat as he rested his hands back around his shoulders. "It's okay," he said quietly again, tugging Al closer as he shook and shivered and gasped. "It's okay, just calm down, Al. Okay? Shh, you're fine…" he murmured, rubbing his shaking back and shoulders through the layers.

"Your brother was not _right,"_ he said firmly, once he knew Al had calmed down enough to listen. _"_ He's right about most things, tragically, but he's not right about this, Al. There's nothing wrong with you. You _can_ do it; you're doing it right now, aren't you? You're doing it right now, and you're going to just be fine. Just take a few moments, calm down…"

Roy swallowed, fighting to keep his voice calm while he still suppressed that note of panic. Despite his hopefully steady, calming words, he was almost desperate here. If he couldn't calm Al down, Ed's overprotective mother henning would break through to astronomical levels. Al would probably never be able to get outside again, and by the sound of it, Al really wanted nothing more than just some freedom, and this would put a stop to that immediately. Ed, of course, would surely _never_ trust _him_ again. Not to mention they were in a rather bad spot out here; if Al couldn't calm down and Roy had to go get someone, just how was he to do that? He couldn't leave Al alone out here, he simply _couldn't_ just get up and leave a panicking, freezing child all alone in the snow- but Roy had no earthly idea where the nearest nurse was or how to find her. Shouting for help would just make him worse, but he couldn't just carry him, god, Roy could _not_ risk dropping him-!

_Maybe this really wasn't been the greatest idea after all…_

He held Al tighter, desperately listening to the shaky, hitched breaths and trying to steady him. It wasn't that he had experience with sensory overload- most recently it was quite the opposite, actually, he thought wryly- but he hoped the concepts were at least somewhat related as he carefully held the coat-smothered form, not even wanting to count the number of times Riza had done the same for him just this last week.

He waited, forced just into listening to try and gauge Al's emotional state. When the breaths were no longer something closer to gasps, Roy pulled back a little, turning his head down towards him. "Better?" he asked quietly.

"Y-y-yeah," Al gasped hoarsely, nodding a little. He was still trembling, gloved hands trying to clutch at his jacket, but at least sounded a little calmer than before. "I'm… s-sorry."

Hurriedly, Roy squeezed at what he hoped was his shoulders again, then pulled off one of his gloves with his teeth, taking off his glasses to carefully situate them on Al's face instead. "Better?" he asked again, squeezing his own useless eyes shut.

He heard a few stuttery breaths under his hands, shaky and weak, then a hitched sort of nod. "Y-yeah," he mumbled, and this time, the break in his voice sounded a little more related to his chattering teeth than an emotional breakdown. "B-but- Lieutenant Hawkeye s-said _you_ had to w-wear these- I don't… why does it f-feel better…?"

Roy gave him a slight smile again, making sure to keep his eyes shut. "That's one of the things about snow lots of people tend not to realize," he told him, starting to shrug off his own black overcoat, because it really sounded like Al needed it more than he did. "If it's a good quality snow, it's so bright and reflective it can actually hurt your eyes." He tapped his own face with a bitter smile as he continued to shrug his jacket off. "That's why the lieutenant said that. The optic nerves are severed, so I actually don't know if I'm looking at something so bright it's burning my retinas. Until my eyes start crying, or something equally embarrassing. Here." Stuffing Al's arms into the sleeves was a bit beyond him by this point, so he just wrapped it around him like a blanket instead; by the feel, it was twice his size at least. Somehow, the short joke that would've been hilarious with Ed felt utterly wrong and out of place here with Al, thin and freezing before him. "You saw all the Briggs soldiers wearing something like them, right?"

He felt Al give a little nod again, the thin form in front of him still shivering violently. "Y-yeah. Yeah, I did… I guess I j-just never f-figured… I mean- _seeing_ can hurt? _Seeing?_ It feels so… so _weird…_ Oh!" he suddenly started. Out of nowhere, he felt Al fidgeting again, now trying to pull the glasses off. "But if you n-need these, th-then-"

"I can just keep my eyes closed, Al," he laughed, sitting back on his heels. He hugged himself a little tighter, trying not to shiver, and tried aiming another smile at Al. "Just give them back to me before we head back inside, and Hawkeye will never even have to know. It can be our little secret."

He heard another hoarse chuckle from in front of him. "You keep a lot of little secrets from Lieutenant Hawkeye, don't you, Colonel?"

"You… really should stop listening to your brother, Al."

This time, the noise was something actually approaching a giggle. "He says I should stop listening to _you._ " Then, "C-can I… can I take my gloves off, Colonel? I- I want to try building a snowman. That's what I was trying, earlier, but it wouldn't work with my gloves on and then I fell on the ice, and th-then I…" he trailed off weakly again, voice shaking.

Roy hesitated again, biting his lip. "…Just one," he said reluctantly, holding his hand out for Al to give it to him. "And don't keep it off for too long, okay?" He could only imagine what Ed would say if Al came back inside with blue fingernails…

No glove came to rest in his hand, though, and after a moment of listening harder, he was able to tell Al was ineffectually trying to slide the glove off with both hands still trapped safely in warm cloth. Stifling another chuckle, Roy somehow managed to catch his wrist and get the glove off himself, slipping it into his pocket alongside his ticking watch.

Not even a moment later, he could hear the crunching of the snow again, this time joined by Al's joyful shouts. "It's- oh, Colonel! It stings, it _stings!"_ He sounded delighted, though, and a moment later was practically laughing his head off as, if Roy's ears were right, he just flopped to lie face down in the snow, giggling and loving every second of it. "It's so- eek!"

"…Al?" he asked hesitantly, leaning blindly forward again. "Are you okay…?"

"C- _Colonel!"_ he said again, but this time muffled, like it was around a mouthful of, of- _oh, no…_ "You can _eat_ it! Colonel Mustang, Colonel Mustang, I'm eating it! Ah! I'm eating snow, Colonel! It's- it's melting, oh my god, it's _melting_ , I- _I love it! Colonel!"_ he cried, laughing around a definite mouthful of snow, then suddenly cried out again underneath another chorus of crunching snow. "Snow angel, snow angel!" he cried again, and Roy just sagged with another laugh himself.

"Don't eat too much," he tried half-heartedly, but was pretty sure Al was beyond listening to such instructions now.

Ah, well. Could've been worse, he thought, smiling weakly- could've been worse.

He sat there awkwardly on the snow, cross legged and trying not to shiver as he listened to Al do whatever it was he was trying to do. He didn't seem to be eating the snow anymore, which was definitely for the best, or rolling around in it anymore, also for the best, and he was certainly having fun, which was really all he could've ever asked for.

His sense of time was all but destroyed, so Roy really didn't have the slightest idea how long they'd been out here or how long they had left. At a certain point, though, Al slowed down, and when Roy realized he could hear his chattering teeth even from over here, he found himself smiling again, tilting his head to the side. "Cold?" he asked dryly.

He could hear the smile on Al's voice when he replied. "Y-y-yeah," he mumbled, not sounding regretful in the slightest.

Roy smiled as well, handing Al's glove back to him. "Want to go back inside?"

Once again, his answer didn't surprise him whatsoever. "N-nope."

He sighed, but just couldn't bring himself to be truly regretful as he carefully scooted himself closer to the shivering teen, wrapping his arms around him. He was cold, too, but had to be warmer than Al, and through the many layers surely a hug could only help. "Can you make it back over to the wheelchair?"

Al sighed back at him, still shivering, and Roy felt him tuck his cold face into his side. "I c-can w-walk that far, y-y-yeah. But d-don't know if I c-can make it on the ice w-w-without f-falling…"

Roy nodded, unsurprised. He knew asking Al to try and make it on his own was a very bad idea, not unless he wanted to end up trying to explain a broken hip or leg to a steaming, screaming older brother- and deserving every insult being hurled his way. Unfortunately, considering he himself had fallen while on his way over here, he was a bit too wary to suggest helping Al over there himself.

For a while, Roy just said nothing at all, rubbing Al's thin arm through the coats, chin resting on top of his head of messy hair. He wished he had a better grip on what time it was, to know when he should really start moving. At last, though, when he felt like they probably only had five, _maybe_ ten minutes left, Roy carefully let go of Al only to scoot around, kneeling on the ground. "I'm not sure we've really got much of a choice, here, Al… on my back, if you can? This is… really the only way I can think of, without risking a fall." He paused, pursing his lips. "I feel obligated to mention that if you were your brother, I'd sooner shoot myself in the face before I'd consider this option."

He heard Al laugh again, even as the teen carefully started to maneuver onto his back without fighting him, unlike the absolute bitch fit Ed would've thrown if Roy had ever even _suggested_ such a thing to him. "Don't lie, Colonel. You'd lord it over his head for months, wouldn't you?"

"I… well. …Perhaps." Rolling his eyes, then swiftly shutting them again, Roy immediately tried to adjust things so he was supporting Al as much as possible and the teen wasn't really required to do anything except lean against him. "It's right in front of me, right?"

"Oh. Um… little to the left."

Nodding, Roy carefully oriented himself in what had better damn well be the correct direction and started off again. Not for the first time today, he was grateful Havoc's rehab hadn't finished yet, and his eyes were still as blind as a bat's; somehow, the idea of the looks he was attracting right now did absolutely nothing for his pride, and it was just easier for him to imagine that they were completely alone. Although, with the heavy coat he'd loaned Al now hanging all over him, maybe no one could even recognize him and his ego would escape unbruised…

Several awkward little crawls through the snow later, Al spoke up again, voice tiny and shivering. "…Thanks, Colonel Mustang. For all of this. Really."

Roy shrugged, careful not to dislodge the painfully thin arms draped over his shoulders. "It was the least I could do. Like I said before, there's nothing quite like your first snow."

He felt Al nod against his shoulder. "It never snows in Risembool… I know it does all the time in Central, but- but we're going back home after all of this, and I- I just really, really wanted to be outside, you know? I know Brother was only looking out for me, and I… I guess he's got every right to be scared, but…"

Roy allowed himself another bitter smile. "Maybe he does. But, you know, he's just going to have to learn that he can't be with you every second of every day. Sometimes, he's just going to have to let you sink or swim on your own. I'm sure you've noticed how carefully my lieutenant is watching me, these days? I had to give her this talk just the other day… I imagine she's passing it on to your brother right now." He tried to smile over his shoulder, not really sure if he was aiming it at Al or the wall, but sure the sentiment got across just the same. "He had to see that you could handle it. Now that he has, I imagine things will be a little better."

Al laughed a little, head still resting against his back. "I… well… thanks all the same, Colonel," he said quietly, arms tightening around his shoulders, and Roy smiled back again.

It was a little difficult for him to find the wheelchair, but once he'd managed to crawl over to it Al patted his shoulder, pushing a little. "I've got it from here," he said, and Roy sat back to listen as Al carefully climbed his way back to safety. Then: "Oh, that's right… here you go, Colonel!"

Roy blinked, face flushing warmly as the glasses were slid right back onto his face. "O-oh," he stammered, blinking again. "I- thank you."

He dusted his gloves off on his pants, still shivering- pretty violently, by this point- then flushed when Al laughed at him again. "We can go inside now, Colonel," he said happily, beaming so brightly Roy could practically feel it searing into him and it was just so infectious that Roy couldn't help but beam back.

But then- "Oh, I forgot- um… can you, um… can you wait just a moment, Colonel?"

Roy nodded obediently, still sitting there on his knees. "Sure," he said absentmindedly, running a gloved hand through his wet hair. "What's the matter?"

Al didn't respond at all for several moments, though Roy could hear the crunching of the snow at his feet again. At first, it was just that, just a bit of crunching and Al's panting in the freezing air. Then, finally, Al sat up again, and somehow Roy could just tell he was being looked at.

"Colonel Mustang…?" Al said again. This time, the words were heavy, and actually sincerely… regretful? Wait- what? What was going on?

"Colonel," he said again, "I'm really, _really_ sorry for this. I really am. I don't mean it. But… Ed would never forgive me if I let this opportunity pass."

Roy blinked again, his brow furrowing. It sounded like something was seriously wrong, now. And things had been going so well, too- "Al, wha-"

And one big, wet, freezing snowball hit him from point blank rage straight in the chest.

Roy blinked blindly.

It took him a while to realize that the quietly gasped, strangled breaths was Al trying not to laugh at him, even as his mittened hands patted all over him, trying to brush the snow off his front. "I'm- I'm s-sorry, Colonel, I r-really am-" Al gasped, and it was ridiculous but Roy honestly believed him, even as the teen sat there and laughed at him and brushed off the freezing snow that was all his fault. "I'm sorry, I just- I _had_ to, Brother made me promise-"

Roy sighed, slumping a little in the snow, and just leaned forward to hug him back.

Mostly to hide the fact that he just couldn't help another small, weak smile.


End file.
